|
I didn't get much sleep last night and woke up this morning still tingling with excitement and I just had to write to you.
Yesterday was one of those days that reminds you exactly why you do this. Why you travel the miles, why you put in the hours, why you give your whole heart to this extraordinary sport and to these magnificent people we get to share our lives with.
Gracie competed at a championship yesterday. She was magnificent. And we came so close — so beautifully, breathtakingly close — to a championship win. And then, at the very last moment, she lost it on the scent exercise.
And I felt not one single twinge of disappointment.
Not one! Can you believe that?! I couldn't. I was so surprised as I drove home. I'd normally feel deflated. Exhausted. Disappointed. But genuinely, I looked inside and didn't feel those things.
Instead I felt elated. Yesterday I had the most joy-filled, connected, present day I can remember having at an obedience show in a very long time. And I believe with everything in me that it came down to one single word. One intention I had set before I even arrived.
Listen.
Just that. Listen to Gracie. Be with her. Connect with her. Feel whether this sport — which she is a champion at, which she has won more championships in than any other Aussie in history — is still truly alive for her, after the enormous highs she's had, and her long career. Is her heart still in it. And is mine? My joy had also been fading. My training and friendship circle has changed radically in the last year, ever since I worked out the joy of boundaries!
And she answered me so clearly, so joyfully. Yes. Yes it is. She felt absolutely wonderful.
Oh, and before her round? We shared an ice cream together. Just the two of us. A little ritual, a little reminder that her performance is not contingent on rewards — that just being together is enough for me. That she is enough, exactly as she is, always. And that she has choices, and whatever her choice is, that is perfect for me.
And afterwards, when she came out having done such a fabulous round? (and yes, that included a lovely send away! the exercise which had not been great at Crufts!). We shared another one. And Gracie — she was absolutely overjoyed. Queen of the castle. She did her little headstands. Her enormous grin. She jumped at me, tail going absolutely furiously. I know in my bones that yesterday was a day she loved with everything she had.
Her joy was utterly, completely, gloriously infectious. And I loved every single second of it.
I loved being at the show too. Catching up with friends I haven't seen in far too long. Feeling the warmth and support of this community — for me, for Gracie, for our adventures together. The connection didn't just flow between me and my girl. It flowed everywhere. To old friends, to new ones, to the judge and judging team who were so kind and generous about Gracie's work, who sighed with us at her choice in that final moment. Did i worry about the people there who I am no longer friendly with, who used to be my inner circle? It surprised me to find myself feeling empowered, strong, and totally connected to those who are important to me. And not at all worrying about those who are no longer in my group. And that felt like freedom.
Going into the scent exercise, knowing we were so close, I felt relaxed. At ease. Because Gracie is an extraordinary scent dog and I had complete, unshakeable trust in her. In the last 2 years, she has never failed a scent. But yesterday she was too high — perhaps, like me, a little too certain, too full of the joy of the day! She worked too quickly, not quite methodically enough. And that cost us the win.
And it felt right. It truly did.
The winners, Jane and Crazy, are such a beautiful team. They did everything to the very highest standard on the day. They deserve every single bit of their success, they are a wonderful, positive partnership and I celebrated them wholeheartedly.
But we came away feeling like we had won too.
And isn't that something worth sitting with?
We compete for the elation of the win. For that indescribable buzz of everything coming together in one perfect moment. But what if the real elation — the deeper, richer, more lasting elation — is something else entirely?
What if it is the feeling of being so present, so connected, so completely surrendered to the unfolding of life as it actually is, that the outcome becomes almost beside the point?
What if the joy of having shown up fully — with presence, with trust, with your heart wide open — is actually greater than the win?
Because in our heart of hearts, we already know that the outcome is rarely something we can fully control. The aim was never really the trophy.
The aim is this. Presence. Connection. Surrender to whatever life offers us on the day.
Gracie and I had all of that yesterday. And I am so deeply, genuinely grateful for every single moment of it.
This is exactly what we work on inside Mindset Mastery Membership. Not just performing better — though that comes, and it is wonderful when it does. But learning to show up in a way that means, whatever the outcome, you come away full rather than hollow. Connected rather than deflated. Tingling the morning after, rather than replaying everything that went wrong.
If this resonates with you — if something in you recognises this way of being with your dog and wants more of it — I would absolutely love to join in my next Masterclass Series which is in a couple of weeks.
|
